Death Ring

I consider this to be one of my favorite movies, for the mere fact that it's so incredibly bad. It's not enough that the action is lame, or the plot so ridiculous. It's the fact that Don Swayze wouldn't need guns to kill an army of highly trained assassins, duh, he'd use his powerful acting abilities! Like in 'Trapper County War', he sniffed girls hair and threatened to kill them, that to me portrays a dangerous individual..so cerebral... Anyways, speaking of 'The Don', when I first watched this I was waiting for Don to come into the movie, and when the hero falls into the cave I said "Wouldn't it be cool if Don Swayze lived in the cave?". You know, just one of those stupid comments you make when you watch stupid movies. Low and behold however he did!! He'd been living there for something like 3 months off of rats and berries...ugh. Not even Billy Drago could save this movie, that says a lot. Buy it only if you love watching crap...like me.

If this movie had Joe Estavez and Frank Stalone, I would have creamed my pants. But this cast of closely related to actual good actors is still more than most. Chuck Norris' son is captured and taken to an Island to be hunted. Yeah Its a Most Dangerous Game plot, but it has Dan Swazey. He looks kinda like his brother except incredibly creepy and very leathery. Someone said it looked like ET may have been his father. The Norris/Swazey tag team is even better than the Dennis Rodman/Van Dam but not as good as the double dose of Arnold in the Sixth Day, and they are an ass kicking machine. Dans best line "I'm back from the dead and I'm going t kick your ass." If you find this movie watch it, it rulz, thats right with a "z".

I have always enjoyed the films of the Norris family (Chuck, Mike, and Aaron). When I rented Death Ring, I expected it to be an above average film. However, I was surprised. It is, in my opinion, one of the best B-films ever made. It is loaded with action, has a plot which is very easy to follow, and had good acting. Mike Norris did well in Delta Force 3, and continued with this talent throughout Death Ring. He is a very underrated actor who deserves to be in first-run movies. Given a chance, he is very likely to succeed at the box office. Billy Drago portrays this film's villain, and he did well too. He has the talent that makes his characters very antagonistic, and in the case of Death Ring, very engrossing. He has you siding with the protagonist even more. The locales used in this film were interesting as well.

How's this for ya. Norris, McQueen, Swayze and Drago. But it's not who you would think... or even dream of. So If you cannot get the headlining stars. Do the next best thing. Get their lesser talented family. And sell the film that way. You're not lying plastering their surnames across the poster. At least you got Billy Drago. Disappointedly though, looks like Frank Stallone and Joe Estevez weren't available.

An ex-solider (Mike Norris) along with his girl, are kidnapped after the attention he receives of winning a survival of the fittest contest. Soon he finds out he has been chosen as the next target for a life and death manhunt on a millionaires (Billy Drago) island. While his best mate (Chad McQueen) is doing everything possible to find out who kidnapped him.

'Death Ring' is a straight-to-video, b-action staple of little imagination and probably looked much wilder on paper than what entirely transpired. Still there's a clunkiness to its story progression, and along with certain performances sorta carry it through. The premise treads a familiar path of the most dangerous game formula. And it's not particularly a thrilling exercise, as it's very slow to get going, especially when it came to the island manhunt. Everything picks up in the last half-hour, where it comes into its own. Even though it's low-rent action. Throw in some dodgy booby traps, sloppy one-one-one combat, daring helicopter rescue and a head decapitation. It gets better as it goes along.

Luckily Drago effortlessly chews it up whenever on screen and runs rings around everyone else. His interaction with Branscombe Richmond (who's sorely underused) is a vicious exchange. Was probably the best moment within the stodgy first hour. While Don Swayze is credited, he comes on late and doesn't get up to much. As he sorta tags along, while Norris goes to town. Norris gets a couple decent encounters especially with Donegan Smith (the most memorable of the hunters). Another cameo was Dennis Lipscomb, as a satanist leader. Quick, but devilishly amusing walk-on scene mainly involving the sub-plot of McQueen's character.

An okay watch, but I wish it didn't hold back. In the end I'll rather re-watch Avenging Force, or Hard Target, and Surviving the Game. Even Deadly Prey did it better.

While the premise of the film offered a glimmer of intrigue, the overall execution left much to be desired. The plot, though somewhat interesting, struggled to shine through the film's low-budget production and lackluster editing, resulting in an underwhelming viewing experience. The fight scenes, while passable, suffered from the constraints of the movie's financial limitations, making it difficult to suspend disbelief.

One of the film's significant shortcomings was its subpar acting, with performances that failed to elevate the material. The dialogue choices, at times unintentionally comical, added to the overall sense of mediocrity. Unfortunately, the main lead's portrayal lacked the depth needed to convey a genuine sense of danger, undermining the tension the plot attempted to build.

In the midst of these drawbacks, Billy Drago emerged as a notable exception. His portrayal of the antagonist injected a degree of life into the film, proving to be the standout element. However, even with his commendable performance, the movie failed to capitalize on his character, leaving much untapped potential.

Regrettably, the climax failed to deliver the anticipated excitement, further cementing the film's status as a lackluster B-action movie. It's a forgettable addition to the genre, lacking the compelling elements needed to make it a noteworthy watch. In the grand scheme of action cinema, this production falls squarely into the realm of mediocrity, offering little to justify investing your time.